The Real Housewives of Dubai won’t be returning to Bravo for season 3 anytime soon, and executive producer Andy Cohen tells PEOPLE the decision isn’t personal.
“It’s just smart business,” Cohen, 56, says, while on the red carpet of Bravo Fan Fest 2024 on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Miami, Fla. “We have a lot of Housewives going right now. And it’s one of the reasons it took so long to get The Real Housewives of Atlanta going, and one of the reasons we’re in a deep pause with The Real Housewives of New Jersey. We just want to make sure we get everything right and be very deliberate with everything we’re doing.”
Network executives told cast members from RHODubai that their show was going on pause earlier this month, PEOPLE can confirm.
The series — which originally starred Housewives Chanel Ayan, Sara Al Madani, Caroline Brooks, Lesa Milan, Caroline Stanbury and Nina Ali — first premiered in June 2022, making history as Bravo’s first international installment of the franchise. But despite plenty of glamor and drama within the group, the show didn’t hit the airways for season two until June 2024, two whole years later.
That absence seemingly a strong impact on the buzz for the series, with audiences complaining that the momentum had been lost. Casting changes, including the departure of Ali and the addition of Taleen Marie and Friend Saba Yussouf, didn’t seemingly help in the ratings.
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But ratings, Cohen tells PEOPLE, is only part of the story when the network is determining what shows to bring back or not.
Case in point: The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Last season, the show was bringing in higher overnight ratings than The Real Housewives of New York City and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City have been. But the series was still placed on pause, with cast divisions leading the network to discuss possibilities of a reboot.
“The great thing about the Housewives in general is that the numbers are super high for all of them across the board, especially when you factor in Peacock and streaming,” he tells PEOPLE. “You can’t look at overnight or live ratings anymore. It just doesn’t tell the whole story. And when we’re making decisions, we’re really looking at the full picture.”
“We love these shows,” Cohen adds. “We all want to get it right.”
Fans also love these shows, are clamoring for new ways to discuss them on the daily.
Bravo Fan Fest is one of the network’s newest initiatives. Announced back in August in the wake of news that there wouldn’t be a BravoCon 2024, the “intimate one-day celebration” featured appearances from an all-star lineup of 30 Bravolebrities.
Attendees were able to interact with them in themed activations, panels and photo opportunities. There were also 5 special episodes of WWHL taped.”
“We decided to skip a year of BravoCon but take our show on the road to a big Bravo community,” Cohen explains. “It’s working great and I’m really thrilled at the response.”
BravoCon will be back for 2025, though. The convention will return to Caesars Forum in Las Vegas next year, for the weekend of Nov. 14-16.
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